An ecologically framed model is presented describing processes accounting for early adolescents’ exposure to community violence in high-risk neighborhoodsas a function of risk factors in four ecological domains assessed in the prior year. The model was tested for hypothesized pathways along which the combined domains of risk might operate. The children were interviewed about their exposure to community violence. Data on the risk factors were obtained from the children themselves and their parents, classmates, and teachers. All four domains—family and household context, negative parenting, deviant behavior of friends, and the children’s own behavioral characteristics and cognition—contributed to the children’s risk for exposure 1 year later. As hypothesized, deviant behavior of friends and the children’s own behavior and cognition were found to mediate the effects of stressful family and household context and negative parenting on later risk for exposure.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991a). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
2.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991b). Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
3.
Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychologicalwell-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 427-454.
4.
Bandura, A. (1989). Social cognitive theory. In R. Vasta (Ed.), Six theories of child development. Revised formulations and current issues. Annals of child development (Vol. 6., pp. 1-60). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
5.
Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprana, G. V., & Pastorelli, C. (1996). Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 364-374.
6.
Baron, R. R., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
7.
Bell, C. C., & Jenkins, E. J. (1993). Community violence and children on Chicago’s southside. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 56, 46-54.
8.
Bollen, K. A., (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
9.
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 132-162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
10.
Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Jr., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526-541.
11.
Crouch, J. L., Hanson, R. F., Saunders, B. E., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Resnick, H. (2000). Income, race/ethnicity and exposure to violence in youth: Results from the national survey of adolescents. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 625-641.
12.
Derogatis, L. R., & Melisaratos, N. (1983). The Brief Symptom Inventory: An introductory report. Psychological Medicine, 13, 595-605.
13.
DuRant, R. H., Cadenhead, C., Pendergrast, R. A., Slavens, G., & Linder, C. W. (1994). American Journal of Public Health, 84, 612-617.
14.
DuRant, R. H., Getts, A. G., Cadenhead, C., & Woods, E. R. (1995). Exposure to violence and victimization and fighting by urban Black adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 17, 376-380.
15.
Elliot, D. S., & Ageton, S. S. (1980). Reconciling race and class differences in self-reported and official estimates of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 45, 95-110.
16.
Esbensen, F., & Huizinga, D. (1991). Juvenile victimization and delinquency. Youth & Society, 23, 202-228.
17.
Esbensen, F., Huizinga, D., & Menard, S. (1999). Family context and criminal victimization in adolescence. Youth & Society, 31, 168-198.
18.
Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1999). Violent victimization among America’s school children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 1055-1069.
19.
Freudenberg, N., Roberts, L., Richie, B. E., Taylor, R. T., McGillicuddy, K., & Greene, M. B. (1999). Coming up in the boogie down: The role of violence in the lives of adolescents in the South Bronx. Health Education & Behavior, 26, 788-805.
20.
Herrenkohl, T. I., Guo, J., Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Smith, B. H. (2001). Early adolescent predictors of youth violence as mediators of childhood risks. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21, 447-469.
21.
Hodges, E. V. E., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., & Bukowski, W. M. (1999). The power of friendship: Protections against an escalating cycle of peer victimization. Developmental Psychology, 35, 94-101.
22.
Hodges, E. V. E., Malone, M. J., & Perry, D. G. (1997). Individual risk and social risk as interacting determinants of victimization in the peer group. Developmental Psychology, 33, 1032-1039.
23.
Huizinga, D., Loeber, R., & Thornberry, T. P. (1993). Longitudinal study of delinquency, drug use, sexual activity, and pregnancy among children and youth in three cities. Public Health Reports, 108, 90-96.
24.
Joreskog, K., & Sorbom, D. (1996). LISREL 8: User’s reference guide. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
25.
Kuther, T. L. (1999). A developmental-contextual perspective on youth covictimization by community violence. Adolescence, 34, 699-714.
26.
Lauritsen, J. L., Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (1992). Conventional and delinquent activities: Implications of the prevention of violent victimization among adolescents. Violence & Victims, 7, 91-108.
27.
Lockwood, D. (1997). Violence among middle school and high school students: Analysis and implications for prevention (Research in brief). Washington DC: National Institute of Justice.
28.
Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Van Kammen, W., & Farrington, D. (1991). Initiation, escalation, and desistance in juvenile offending and their correlates. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 82, 36-82.
29.
Luthar, S. S., & Goldstein, A. (2004). Children’s exposure to community violence: Implications for understanding risk and resilience. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 499-505.
30.
Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1998). An ecological-transactional analysis of children and contexts: The longitudinal interplay among child maltreatment, community violence, and children’s symptomatology. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 235-257.
31.
Malik, S., Sorenson, S. B., & Aneshensel, C. S. (1997). Community and dating violence among adolescents: Perpetration and victimization. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21, 291-302.
32.
Miller, L. S., Wasserman, G. A., Neugebauer, R., Gorman-Smith, D., & Kamboukos, D. (1999). Witnessed community violence and antisocial behavior in high-risk urban boys. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 2-11.
33.
Ng-Mak, D. S., Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., & Stueve, A. (2002). Normalization of violence among inner-city youth: A formulation for research. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72, 92-101.
34.
Ng-Mak, D. S., Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., & Stueve, C. A. (2004). Pathologic adaptation to community violence among inner-city youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 74, 196-208.
35.
Overstreet, S. (2000). Exposure to community violence: Defining the problem and understanding the consequences. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9, 7-25.
36.
Ozer, E. J., Richards, M. H., & Kliewer, W. (Eds.). (2004). Protective factors in the relation between community violence exposure and adjustment in youth [Special section]. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 434-505.
37.
Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach. Vol. 3: Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
38.
Richters, J. E., & Saltzman, W. (1990). Survey of Exposure to Community Violence: Self-report version. Washington, DC: National Institute of Mental Health.
39.
Rosario, M., Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., & Ng-Mak, D. S. (2003). Community violence exposure and delinquent behaviors among youth: The moderating role of coping. Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 1-24.
40.
Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., Hammer, M., & Rosario, M. (1993). The effects of physical abuse on children’s social relationships. Child Development, 64, 169-187.
41.
Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., Ng-Mak, D. S., Mojica, E., Stockhammer, T., & Rosario, M. (2002). Effects of partner violence and physical child abuse on child behavior: A study of abused and comparison children. Journal of Family Violence, 17, 23-52.
42.
Salzinger, S., Feldman, R. S., Stockhammer, T., & Hood, J. (2002). An ecological framework for understanding risk for exposure to community violence and the effects of exposure on children and adolescents. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7, 423-451.
43.
Sampson, R. J., & Lauritsen, J. L. (1994). Violent victimization and offending: Individual-, situational-, and community-level risk factors. In A. J. Reiss, Jr., & J. A. Roth (Eds.), Understanding and preventing violence: Social influences (Vol. 3, pp. 1-114). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
44.
Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918-924.
45.
Scaramella, L. V., Conger, R. D., Spoth, R., & Simons, R. L. (2002). Evaluation of a social contextual model of delinquency: A cross-study replication. Child Development, 73, 175-195.
46.
Schwab-Stone, M., Ayers, T. S., Kasprow, W., Voyce, C., Barone, C., Shriver, T., et al. (1995). No safe haven: A study of violence exposure in an urban community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1343-1352.
47.
Schwartz, D., McFadyen-Ketchum, S. A., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1999). Early behavior problems as a predictor of later peer group victimization: Moderators and mediators in the pathways of social risk. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 191-201.
48.
Selner-O’Hagan, M. B., Kindlon, D. J., Buka, S. L., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. J. (1998). Assessing exposure to violence in urban youth. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry & Allied Disciplines, 39, 215-224.
49.
Sheley, J. F., McGee, Z. T., & Wright, J. D. (1992). Gun-related violence in and around inner-city schools, American Journal of Diseases of Children, 146, 677-682.
50.
Shrout, P., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Bulletin, 7, 422-445.
51.
Shumow, L., Vandell, D. L., & Posner, J. (1998). Perceptions of danger: A psychological mediator of neighborhood demographic characteristics. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68, 468-478.
52.
Straus, M. A. (1979). Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: The conflict tactics (CT) scales. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 41, 75-88.
53.
Thornberry, T. P. (1998). Membership in youth gangs and involvement in serious and violent offending. In R. Loeber & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 147-166). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
U.S. Public Health Service Reports. (1993). Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Washington, DC: Author.
55.
Weist, M. D., Acosta, O. M., & Youngstrom, E. A. (2001). Predictors of violence exposure among inner-city youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 30, 187-198.
56.
Whitbeck, L. B., & Simons, R. L. (1990). Life on the streets: The victimization of runaway and homeless adolescents. Youth & Society, 22, 108-125.
57.
Zelli, A., Dodge, K. A., Lochman, J. E., Laird, R. D., & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (1999). The distinction between beliefs legitimizing aggression and deviant processing of social cues: Testing measurement validity and the hypothesis that biased information processing mediates the effects of beliefs on aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 150-166.
